Electronic devices consume power in their standby mode of operation so as to be available almost instantly when users want to use them. With the proliferation of these electronic devices, the standby power consumed by each device multiplied by, for example, the number of devices per business or household multiplied by the number of businesses or households results in a relatively large amount of energy being consumed. These devices typically remain in their standby mode even when it is highly unlikely that they will be used, for example, when an employee leaves the office after a days work, residents leave their home to go to work, and so on. Thus, in aggregate electronic devices in their standby mode of operation waste a large amount of energy.